Joaquin Phoenix recently discussed his new movie 'The Master' in an interview with The Mirror and believes leaders of Scientology type cults are 'very human' in that they can't see themselves becoming obsessed with power.

The Oscar winning actor hasn't worked on any movie project since 2010 when he did a comedy documentary called 'I'm Still Here' which featured his transition from famous actor to aspiring rapper and he admits that he was in danger of becoming 'bored' of his career. 'I just felt like I needed to change something drastically, so I wasn't bored', he told The Mirror. 'I wanted to have the feeling that I had when I was young when it was like, 'This is the most important thing to me, and I'm going to put everything that I have into this'.'

He certainly seems to have put his all into 'The Master'; a movie, apparently based on Scientology, about a drunk and spiritually lost man finding solace in a religious cult led by a charismatic but dubious scholar. When asked his feelings on the subject matter he replied, 'I know people talk about it, and some of their beliefs are ridiculous, but I don't know how they sound any more absurd than Catholic or Christian beliefs - no offence to anyone who believes in those.' He was also struck by the authenticity of the movie and believes that leaders in that situation don't realise how much power is affecting them. 'I think it's easy for people to convince themselves that they are doing something altruistic and doing something with the group ultimately, and it is a selfish act', he said.